2017 UK
Back in the UK, the sun was shining and temperatures heating up (for the UK) – and we rashly went out and bought some camping equipment. Immediately the weather turned nasty, so we didn’t unpack – just in case we decide to return it for a refund! We really wanted to visit Ireland – and NE England but trying to find a few days without commitments was a challenge. How did we ever manage when we were working?
One day, we met up with Rob & Jas and Rosie & baby Juno for a day at Kew Gardens. The children grow up so quickly! It was Christine’s very first visit to the Gardens, despite having lived in the UK for more than 10 years. The Gardens were certainly magnificent.
Spring in the New Forest is a wonderful time of year – the blue bells were out, and the ponies were giving birth. It was great to show our visitors this beautiful part of the world. Tricky, Jane and Millie (ex-Lionheart, NZ) were exploring the UK and took the time to come and visit. It was lovely to catch up with them again – the last time had been in 2015 at Phuket, Thailand.
And Christine’s niece Pippa and her son Xavi visited from Australia – Pippa still owned rental properties in the UK following her stint at living there in the late 90’s. Now 10 years old, Xavi was fascinated by dinosaurs, so we took them to the Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester, followed by a visit to the Charmouth Fossil Centre. He desperately wanted to find his own geode, so we collected a selection of possible rocks from the seaside for him to break open. Great fun, but no success!
In June, we finally managed to use our rash purchase of camping equipment and took ourselves to Northumberland and the Border counties. The weather was kind and we managed to mix the wild and picturesque landscapes with historical and architectural visits to Glasgow and York. The highlight for Keith was a visit to the Farne Islands where we were nose-to-beak with the puffins and seals. The high tide allowed us to get very close to the thousands of birds adorning the rocks. We managed to get some lovely photos in the clear sunshine.
The highlight of this trip for Christine was exploring Glasgow. She’s always been a great fan of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh style of architecture and design. He designed buildings, as well as all types of furniture and other decorative features. We spent a great day checking out his buildings and various examples of his art scattered around Glasgow – and shouted ourselves afternoon tea at the iconic Willow Tea Rooms.
The downside of the camping experience was a leaky airbed which we had to blow up every few hours each night – not good! Upon our return to Southampton, we were able to exchange it for a new one.
In July we celebrated the wedding of Keith’s youngest daughter Charlotte to Rachel. It was a happy and lovely day, with the girls looking so beautiful in their wedding dresses. Emily and Jon came over from New Zealand, and it was great to catch up with them – together with Robert, Jas, Rosie and Juno. Both Charlotte and Rachel played for the Reading Ladies Rugby Team and the team provided a delightful guard of honour.
In October we went to stay with Gill & Aidan who were ready to build their new steel-frame barn. Aidan had prepared the base ready for the cement pads to be poured for each frame. A week later, once the concrete had set, a local farmer turned up with his tractor to help raise the frames. Keith helped stabilise each frame by hauling on a rope, while Aidan, perched in the bucket of the tractor, bolted the frames together. Within two days, the approximately 20 x 30m barn frame was complete. Now it just needed cladding – which Gill wanted to do with ‘shou sugi ban’-treated wood. Shou sugi ban is a Japanese method of preserving and distressing wood by applying an open flame to it. The fire chars the wood, turning the top layer into black ash, but only lightly so. Unfortunately, as she eventually realised, this proved to be impractical, and she settled for treating the wood with a black preservative to achieve the same aesthetic effect. The finished barn looked great.
With autumn approaching a new challenge beckoned… We started Ballroom dancing lessons – just for fun! This was a source of great hilarity for us both – especially as Keith has two left feet and not a bit of musicality!